The Classic Lemonade Stand

A nostalgic, classic right of childhood passage is testing out your entrepreneurial spirit and hosting your own neighborhood lemonade stand. Here is a charming look at how to DIY your own lemonade stand for the kids.

One of my favorite things about summer is having my kids home from school and filling our days with old-school family fun. Every summer one of our favorite “summer bucket list” things to do is to host a Lemonade Stand right in our driveway. Luckily our little neighborhood is filled with other kids who love to bike over and support our little business.

I love the concept of the Lemonade Stand because I get to teach my kids the meaning of being an entrepreneur. We built this sweet little stand together as a family (ok Shane built it and we helped paint …), make the fresh squeezed lemonade together and set it all up. They get to put in hard work and learn some selling skills while we are out there. I love seeing the joy on their faces when the little coin jar fills up towards the end of the day.

My kids just love getting to throw on their apron and set the stand up, honestly they ask to have one every couple of days. I used to LOVE hosting bake sales when I was little and we’d set up in this old wheel barrow at the end of our street. I usually pick up some fun straws, and we just use glasses from our house. I recently launched this new Family Recipe tea towel, that features the recipe to my Grandmother’s Lemonade. I found this perfect little Vintage produce basket, that holds our fresh lemons perfectly. We love to give each glass a fresh squeeze.

Here are a few tips for setting up your own Lemonade Stand :

Make it homemade – there is truly nothing better than homemade, hand-squeezed lemonade when compared to that overly yellow stuff right out of the canister so be sure to do it the old-fashioned way and make some homemade lemonade for your stand. Trust me, you’ll have a much more successful stand (especially the more you do it!).
Add some flavor – remember your lemonade stand doesn’t have to be basic. Consider jazzing it up a little with a special flavor option, like by adding freshly picked mint leaves from your garden. It will be beautiful and memorable.
Cross merchandise – it’s a good idea in business and this is no exception. Consider ways you can sell other little goods and get creative doing so. Once you have the stand you can really sell anything from it – from baked goods to suckers (yes, we’ve done that) to flowers to art to small trinkets and slime. The possibilities are endless and fun to come up with. It will keep their creative juices flowing and all the prep will fill up a summer morning in no time which makes for a great activity.
Consider donating your profits to charity – this is a great way to teach your kids the value of saving + earning money but also of giving back. It will make them work harder, and your neighbors will be more willing to donate freely – all while helping out a good cause.

The Lemonade Stand is truly a classic summer tradition for our family. I love using my family recipes and teaching my kids new skills, and this just brings it all together. I’d love to know your favorite summertime activities and what you love to do with your kiddos. Let me know in the comments below.

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